Mama Turns 100 (1979)
"Mamá cumple 100 años" (original title)

Ana is alive and married with Antonio; they arrive in the manor in the countryside of Spain where she worked as a nanny many years ago, for the centennial birthday of the matriarch. In ... See full summary »

Director:

Carlos Saura

Writer:

Carlos Saura

Stars:

Geraldine Chaplin, Amparo Muñoz, Fernando Fernán Gómez

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Ana
Amparo Muñoz	...	Natalia
Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Fernando (as Fernando Fernan Gomez)
Norman Briski	...	Antonio (as Norman Brisky)
Rafaela Aparicio	...	Mamá
Charo Soriano	...	Luchi
José Vivó	...	Juan (as Jose Vivo)
Ángeles Torres	...	Carlota (as Angeles Torres)
Elisa Nandi	...	Victoria
Rita Maiden	...	Solange
Monique Ciron	...	Anny

Storyline

Ana is alive and married with Antonio; they arrive in the manor in the countryside of Spain where she worked as a nanny many years ago, for the centennial birthday of the matriarch. In their reunion, she finds that Jose died three years ago; Juan left his wife Luchy; Fernando is still living with his mother and unsuccessfully trying to fly a hang glider; and the three little girls are grown-up. Further, she discovers that the dysfunctional family is completely broken, and Luchy in embezzling mother's money. When Juan arrives for the celebration, he plots with Fernando and Luchy to kill the mother to get the inheritance. Meanwhile, Antonio has a brief affair with Natalia.

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Plot Keywords:

tragicomedy | number in title

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

September 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mama Turns 100

Filming Locations:

Torrelodones, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 155,984,238 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elías Querejeta Producciones Cinematográficas S.L., Les Films Molière, Pierson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"El dos de mayo"
Written by Federico Chueca

User Reviews

Grandma is 100 years old

This is one hilarious film. I remember watching it over and over again on our VCR when I was about 12 years old. I recall being fascinated with this fantastic family, which was nothing like our bleak, Scandinavian existence! I saw it about 10 times...

It's about the grandma's centennial birthday, which gathers together all the family, with their marital and family problems. Some have schemes and plots to embezzle the family's money. The themes also deal with generation-gap and cultural environment in Franco's Spain. However, the Grandma is larger-than-life figure, almost akin to the creations of magical realism. She's able to have, for example, a telepathic connection with her granddaughter. Her son Federico is a "mad scientist" and a dreamer.

The whole film is set in the country house and it's surroundings. All the characters are colourful and rich, funny and tragical. The actress playing the Grand old lady does a terrific job!! Besides, the film is well shot, and the music echoes richly in memories of the persons.